Penn State Football fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich Sunday, according to Jon Sauber, following Penn State’s 24-15 loss to Michigan.
Yurcich spent 3 seasons in Happy Valley (winning 11 games in 2021) and recruited five-star quarterback Drew Allar, however, Penn State’s offense regressed this season in the two biggest games of the year against Ohio State and Michigan leading to his firing.
5 Potential candidates to replace Mike Yurcich for Penn State Football
Andy Ludwig- Offensive Coordinator Utah
Andy Ludwig has spent 4 seasons with the Utes in his second stint in Utah and eclipsed 450 yards 24 times in 47 games with the Utes, including scoring 30 or more points in 34 games. Ludwig was ranked the number 6 offensive coordinator in the nation coming into 2023.
With the Utes moving conferences to the Big 12 after the season and Penn State having a ton of talent that could remain for 2024 (including former 5 stars Drew Allar and Nick Singleton), Ludwig might be interested in making the move to State College.
Ryan Grubb- Offensive Coordinator Washington
Ryan Grubb has helped lead the Washington Huskies to an undefeated record and has quarterback Michael Penix Jr. squarely in the Heisman race.
Grubb has turned down interest from Alabama and Texas A&M in the past so it may be difficult to pry Grubb away from Washington but its worth a call to gauge interest.
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Sean Lewis – Offensive Coordinator Colorado
Sean Lewis left the head coaching job at Kent State to follow Coach Prime to Colorado.
After leading a very successful passing attack with a terrible offensive line through the first half of the season, Lewis was demoted after eight games. With the ties to the region at Kent State, Lewis could make the move back to State College with the relationship with Coach Prime souring.
Tyler Bowen- Offensive Coordinator Virginia Tech
Here is a name Penn State fans will be familiar with. Tyler Bowen coached tight ends at Penn State before leaving to join Urban Meyer’s Jaguars team in 2021.
Bowen was Penn State’s interim OC for the 2019 Cotton Bowl win over Memphis. Bowen has managed to help the Hokies average slightly more yards than Penn State per game (378.6 vs. 378.4) and 26 points per game with much less talent than is available in State College.
Ja’Juan Seider- Running Backs Coach Penn State
Seider will act as Penn State’s interim offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season after the firing of Mike Yurcich.
Seider has spent the past six seasons with Franklin in Happy Valley and turned down multiple offers to leave the program over the years. Seider also has been extremely important in recruiting for Penn State, bringing in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, along with opening the door to Florida for Penn State.
Penn State has one of the more intriguing openings right now and with one of the first openings, can be the first team to approach candidates. Franklin will need to make the right hire to both keep the roster intact in the transfer portal era, especially with top end talent of Allar and Singleton/Allen.
The move away from Yurcich was inevitable after the offensive struggles against OSU, but for recruiting and roster management purposes, Franklin will need to pick a home run hire to not regress.
MORE: Penn State Fans Need Wakeup Call, Despite Michigan Loss
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Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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